There are many terms used in Divorce and now more widely Dissolution of Marriage. Language makes a difference. The trend is toward words that are less divisive.  We stopped using custody years ago and used parenting time for physical custody and legal decision making for legal custody.  The Arizona statutes §25-401 states:

“Legal decision-making” means the legal right and responsibility to make all non-emergency legal decisions for a child including those regarding education, health care, religious training and personal care decisions.  For the purposes of interpreting or applying any international treaty, federal law, a uniform code or the statutes of other jurisdictions of the United States, legal decision-making means legal custody.

 “Parenting time” means the schedule of time during which each parent has access to a child at specified times.  Each parent during their scheduled parenting time is responsible for providing the child with food, clothing and shelter and may make routine decisions concerning the child’s care.

Some other legal terms (some of which could also be updated)that are good to know include the following:

Acceptance of Service – when the Defendant/Respondent in a case agrees to the proceedings and will not require the papers to be served upon him/her.

Affidavit – a document containing information the person swears to be true. Usually sworn to in the presence of a Notary Public.

Alimony or Spousal Maintenance – support paid to dependent spouses. 

Alternate Dispute Resolution or ADR – ways to determine a case without going to court. Examples include mediation, arbitration, and conciliation.

Annulment – a case brought seeking to declare marriage void. 

Answer – the Defendant/Respondent’s response to a complaint filed by the Plaintiff/Petitioner.

Appeal – when a party to a court case asks a higher court to review a judge’s decision from a lower court.

Bench – term used to refer to judges or the court.

Child Support –  funds paid from one party to the other party to support a minor child or children.

Case Number – a number assigned to each case by the Clerk’s Office. This number must be found on all documents filed in a case to help the Clerk’s Office keep a record of all papers in the case. 

Complaint and Petition – the first documents filed by the Plaintiff/Petitioner that begins a court case.  Some jurisdictions are doing away with the adversary nature of the court action.  There are not Plaintiff/Petitioner or Defendant/Respondent.  The action called “In the Matter of the Dissolution of Marriage of name of one party) and the name of the name of the other party.)

Community Property – All property acquired by either spouse during the marriage is considered to be jointly owned. Unless agreed otherwise, upon a dissolution of marriage, it will be divided approximately equally.

Decree – an order entered by the court that sets forth the judge’s decision granting the divorce/dissolution of marriage and the terms of the divorce/dissolution of marriage.

Defendant or Respondent – the person who action is being brought against.

Discovery – a process whereby the parties find out the witnesses and evidence to be presented by the other side. Discovery includes depositions, interrogatories, and requests for production of documents.

Evidence – the documents, testimony or other information presented by the parties to the court..

Grounds – reasons for bringing the action for divorce/dissolution of marriage.

Marital property – the property spouses acquire during their marriage.

No fault – No-fault divorce is the dissolution of a marriage that does not require a showing of wrongdoing by either party.

Party – a person or company involved in a lawsuit – can be either side of a case.

Plaintiff or Petitioner – the person who begins a case in court.

Pro Se or Pro Per – Latin phrase that refers to a litigant who represents himself/herself without the benefit of an attorney.

Separate property – property that a spouse owned before a marriage or was acquired in such a way that prevents it from becoming marital property, such as by a will or inheritance.

Service of Process – refers to the manner in which the opposing party receives notice that a case is being filed against him/her. This must be completed in accordance with law in order for the case to be heard and be binding against the opposing party.

Summons – A document issued by the Clerk of Court to be served on the Defendant/Respondent to notify the Defendant/Respondent that he/she has an action filed against him/her and must file an answer.

These are only a few of the many legal terms.

Learn more about mediation at https://www.center-divorce-mediation.com CDM (405) 11/6/23

Advertising slogans may have a message for divorce cases. For example the 1960’s radio commercial for Dennison Clothes is “Money talks, nobody walks”  In divorce cases money usually encourages a person to agree to terms.  Following are more slogans that could apply to divorce and mediation.

Crazy Eddies: “His prices are insane.”
Avis “We try harder.”
Nike: “Just Do It.”
Apple: “Think Different.”Google: “Don’t Be Evil.”
Volkswagen: “Think Small.”
L’Oréal: “Because You’re Worth It.”
Mastercard: “There are some things money can’t buy.”
Ford: “Go Further.”
IBM: “Think.”
Chevrolet: “Find new roads.”
Verizon: “Can you hear me now?”
Microsoft: “Be What’s Next”
Allstate: “You’re in Good Hands”
Target: “Expect More, Pay Less”
Samsung: “Imagine the Possibilities”
Calvin Klein: “Between love and madness lies obsession”
Wendy’s: “Where’s the Beef?”
Reebok: “I Am What I Am”
Home Depot: “More Saving. More Doing.”
GE: “Imagination at Work”

Learn more about mediation at https://www.center-divorce-mediation.com CDM (404) 9/8/23

I love using Google Maps for Navigation in my car and on my iPhone.  I like making as few turns as possible when I am driving.  Google Maps always has routes with lots of turns.  I always wondered why and was tempted to ask. I had an epiphany the other day while driving and think I know why the algorithm requires so many turns. The algorithm picks the first route that allows you to get you where you want to go. It does not pick the best route.  However, it does give you a choice of routes and things to avoid.  The first route that gets you where you want to go is not always the best route.  You may be asking how this relates to Divorce Mediation. The answer is that couples often pick the option which gets them where they want to go and don’t give consideration to other options which may be better. It is our role as mediators to explore more options and not just go with the first one that the couple agrees to. 

Learn more about mediation at https://www.center-divorce-mediation.com CDM (403) 8/10/23

During the Fifty-fifth Legislature, 2nd Regular Session, the Legislature amended A.R.S. § 25-319(B). The amendment asks the Supreme Court to establish guidelines for determining and awarding spousal maintenance.  On July 20, 2022, Chief Justice Robert Brutinel established the FCIC-Spousal Maintenance Guidelines Subcommittee (FCIC-SMGS) through Administrative Order 2022-83. The FCIC-SMGS was tasked to study and make recommendations for the guidelines. Additionally, the FCIC was tasked with submitting a final report to the Arizona Judicial Council at its  June 2023 meeting.  We will update this blog after the June meeting.

The new law provides that if a spouse qualifies for spousal maintenance, the proposed guidelines will take into account, the length of the marriage, income, assets of the spouse, education of the spouse and work history of the spouse.  Spousal maintenance can be ordered in cases that meet the criteria and only for the period of time and in and amount necessary to allow the receiving spouse to become self-sufficient.  The Supreme Court shall base the guidelines and criteria for deviation from the guidelines on the following relevant factors and considered together and weighed in conjunction with each other:

1. The standard of living established during the marriage.

2. The duration of the marriage.

3. The age, employment history, earning ability and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance.

4. The ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet that spouse’s needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance.

5. The comparative financial resources of the spouses, including their comparative earning abilities in the labor market.

6. The contribution of the spouse seeking maintenance to the earning ability of the other spouse.

7. The extent to which the spouse seeking maintenance has reduced that spouse’s income or career opportunities for the benefit of the other spouse.

8. The ability of both parties after the dissolution to contribute to the future educational costs of their mutual children.

9. The financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, including marital property apportioned to that spouse, and that spouse’s ability to meet that spouse’s own needs independently.

10. The time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment and whether such education or training is readily available.

11. Excessive or abnormal expenditures, destruction, concealment or fraudulent disposition of community, joint tenancy and other property held in common.

12. The cost for the spouse who is seeking maintenance to obtain health insurance and the reduction in the cost of health insurance for the spouse from whom maintenance is sought if the spouse from whom maintenance is sought is able to convert family health insurance to employee health insurance after the marriage is dissolved.

13. All actual damages and judgments from conduct that resulted in criminal conviction of either spouse in which the other spouse or a child was the victim.

Furthermore, a maintenance order shall be made without regard to marital misconduct.  If both parties agree, the maintenance order and a decree of dissolution of marriage or of legal separation may state that its maintenance terms shall not be modified. The guidelines will apply to any spousal maintenance  ordered on or after July 1, 2023 unless the petition was filed before September 24, 2022.

For further details see Arizona Draft Spousal Maintenance Guidelines at Preview attachment Arizona Draft Spousal Maintenance Guidelines.pdfArizona Draft Spousal Maintenance Guidelines.pdf263 KB

Learn more about mediation athttps://www.center-divorce-mediation.com CDM (402) 6/8/23

The New York Times had an article last year by Virginia Hughes entitled “Want to Change Minds?  Consider Talking it Out.”  You can read the article at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/science/group-consensus-persuasion-brain-alignment.html?smid=url-share.  Ms. Hughes discusses a study done by Dr. Beau Sievers of Dartmouth College to improve the understanding of how exactly a group of people achieves a consensus and how each person;s brain changes after such discussion

The article went on to say:

 “The experiment also underscored a dynamic familiar to anyone who has been steamrollered in a work meeting: An individual’s behavior can drastically influence a group decision. Some of the volunteers tried to persuade their group mates of a cinematic interpretation with bluster, by barking orders and talking over their peers. But others — particularly those who were central players in the students’ real-life social networks — acted as mediators, reading the room and trying to find common ground.

The groups with blowhards were less neurally aligned than were those with mediators, the study found. Perhaps more surprising, the mediators drove consensus not by pushing their own interpretations, but by encouraging others to take the stage and then adjusting their own beliefs — and brain patterns — to match the group.

Being willing to change your own mind, then, seems key to getting everyone on the same page.”

We don’t have a larger group and don’t use brain scanners but as mediators we do try to find common ground and encourage couples to be willing to change their mind.  We certainly have couples “talk it out.”  Perhaps this is one of many reasons why mediation works.

Learn more about mediation athttps://www.center-divorce-mediation.com CDM (401) 1/23/23

This is our 400th blog posting.  We started on August 5, 2009.

As of January 1, 2023 Arizona has instituted a new way to get a divorce.  It is called a Summary Consent Decree. See A.R.S. 25-314-01.  Summary Consent Decree is a process that was designed for cases in which the parties have reached a full settlement before even filing anything with the court. It is an excellent procedure for divorcing couples who want things to be as quick, easy, and amicable as possible. The initial filing of the Petition serves as both the Petition and Response as well as a waiver of service of process. The filing fee for the summary consent decree is fifty percent of the combined filing fee for a petition and answer, together with any additional filing fees assessed by the county. Both parties file the papers with the Court together. After the statutory waiting period of 60 days has ended, and assuming all of the documents are in order, the judge will sign the decree, file it with the clerk of court, and the divorce will become final.

You can use this process if you meet the following criteria:

• Both spouses want to get a divorce, AND,
• ✓  Both spouses agree to ALL the terms of the divorce and will work together to complete, sign and file the necessary papers, AND,
• ✓  You DO NOT have a “covenant” marriage, (these papers will not work for a covenant marriage) AND,
• ✓  Either spouse has lived in Arizona at least 90 days before you file the forms; or either spouse is a member of the armed forces and has been stationed in Arizona at least 90 days before you file AND,
• ✓  If they have minor children, they have resided in Arizona at least six months before they file the forms, AND,
• ✓  They believe that their marriage is irretrievably broken  AND,
• ✓  Either spouse has tried to resolve your marital problems through Conciliation Services, or there is no point in trying to resolve their marital problems.

Learn more about mediation at https://www.center-divorce-mediation.com CDM (400) 12/15/22